Triumph Daytona 660 review: The Daytona evolves

In the motorcycling world, the word ‘Daytona’ conjures up imagery of a modern-day icon that outdid its Japanese competition as it won seemingly countless championships in racing classes around the world. The Daytona 660 you see here is Triumph’s replacement to the original 675, but while that was a thoroughbred supersport bike built to dominate the race track, this is a relatively basic road bike that has been built to a budget. Hmm.

Triumph Daytona 660: Design and features

Kicking off on a positive note, I think Triumph has done well with the design, and in this shade of white, it even pulls off a more modern take on the Daytona vibe. The twin headlamps and sleek-looking fairing are striking, and while the tail section isn’t as sharp and pointy, this is a good-looking bike for sure.

However, on a closer look, you’ll notice things you’d never have imagined on a bike with this name. The front brake, for example, uses a basic axial master cylinder and the suspension is completely unadjustable save for rear preload.

Then there’s the plastic cladding along the side that is meant to create the look of an aluminium chassis when what actually resides underneath is a simple steel tubular frame. As far as I can tell, that air intake between the headlamps doesn’t really feed the airbox either. But it’s when you sit on the new Daytona that you’ll fully realise just how different a bike this now is.

Triumph Daytona 660: Ride and handling

The riding position is surprisingly kind, and while there is definitely a sporty forward lean, there are no extremes. Even the footpeg placement is kinder than a Street Triple. The seat is spacious and comfy, the turning radius is reasonably tight, and the overall ergos are nothing like the old Daytona, where comfort was a completely alien concept. In fact, I’m quite sure that you will be in less pain on a Daytona 660 than pretty much every R15 owner out there.

The pleasantries continue as soon as you ride out of the showroom. I faced a one-and-a-half-hour ride home through the depths of Mumbai after collecting the test bike – something that’s usually an awful experience on a big sportbike. But a couple of minutes into the mess of Goregaon, I simply wasn’t feeling the pain I was bracing for, and that was largely thanks to the suspension.

Simply put, the Daytona 660’s suspension is astonishingly plush for a bike like this – even more so than Royal Enfield’s new Bear 650. There’s not a lot of suspension travel, so you do need to care for the rims. But it soaks in our rough, poorly built roads very well, and this is the first sportbike in a long time that I have looked forward to riding in the city. The few downsides are that it will throw hot air at you in heavy traffic, and there’s not a lot of ground clearance – so you need to be cautious over tall speed breakers.

Triumph Daytona 660: Performance

And now we arrive at the big question – does it ride like a Daytona should? At its core, this is a 3-cylinder Triumph that sings a sweet Moto2 song. So, to a small extent, the answer is yes. But mostly, the Daytona 660 is a far more mellow and gentle motorcycle than the OG 675. Since this bike is now based on the Trident 660, I was worried the performance would be a little too mellow, but Triumph has made some notable improvements that spice up the experience.

Power has gone up by 14hp to 95hp, but more importantly, this engine now revs up to 12,600rpm, which makes it much more involving. 95hp is plenty, and this is a rapid motorcycle that can blast past 200kph in seconds, but it never feels aggressive. There is a new Sport mode that adds some much-needed crispness and response while keeping the throttle very easy to manage.

The Daytona also sounds a little louder and more involving than the Trident, but just like that bike, it has a meaty torque band and allows you to lazily ride at lower speeds in higher gears. The 6-speed gearbox is also precise, and the shift feel is crisp and solid, like you’d expect from a big bike. However, you’ll have to pay about Rs 40,000 more if you’d like a quickshifter.

As for handling, the Daytona is good – but to an extent. It’s fun to ride on a winding road, and you can confidently carry plenty of corner speed once the grippy Michelin Power 6 tyres are warm enough. But the moment you start to ride aggressively, you’ll discover the compromise that comes with all that wonderful street comfort. At this point, the suspension feels too soft, particularly at the front under hard braking. The Daytona starts to feel unsettled if you push it too hard.

The braking performance from the J.Juancalipers and Nissin master cylinder is strong enough for the way this bike likes to be ridden, but it is a noticeable step down in sharpness and outright performance compared to a pukka supersport. The same goes for the overall agility and steering sharpness; at 201kg, it’s also alittle heavier than a supersport600 should be.

Triumph Daytona 660: Verdict

At Rs 9.72 lakh, the Daytona costs about one and a half lakh more than the Trident, and I think it’s worth the extra money. This is a more special-looking bike, and it’s also much nicer to ride. But, on the other end of the spectrum, you have the Street Triple R, which is about Rs 40,000 more than this (or about the same as a Daytona 660 with a quickshifter) and offers more performance, equipment and premiumness.

Clearly, then, extreme performance is not a reason to buy a Daytona 660, and if you are graduating from a sub-500cc bike in search of a sporty, aggressive machine that you can take to the track, this is not the bike for you. But for someone who wants a motorcycle that’s easy to live with, not a pain to ride, and looks and sounds like a sportbike, this thing hits the spot.

There are undoubtedly a lot of people who are upset over Triumph using the Daytona name on this motorcycle. But if you can get past that, you’ll discover a motorcycle that is genuinely pleasant to ride even on our roads, while also giving you that special feel-good factor that can only be associated with a fully faired sportbike. And that is a rare thing indeed.